Bucs' Bowles hasn't made decision on Leftwich's future

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said no decision has been made regarding offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich's future with the team during his end-of-year press conference Tuesday.

Bowles responded, "No, there hasn't been any decision yet" when asked if the team would move on from Leftwich, and declined to provide any assessment of the offensive play caller's performance this year.

"I don't have any assessment. Right now, we are evaluating players. We meet as a coaching staff later in the week," Bowles said. "I'll meet with individual coaches as well as the staff, which we do every year, and we will make those assessments then."

Leftwich's offense failed to consistently move the ball on the ground this year, averaging a league-worst 76.9 yards per game. This led to leaning on quarterback Tom Brady and the passing game. Brady attempted a single-season NFL record 733 passing attempts this year, completing 490 of them. This also broke Brady's own completions record.

The offense's inability to find balance was a key factor in the unit's 25th-ranked scoring output, averaging a paltry 18.4 points per game.

Despite the offense's shortcomings, Tampa Bay won the NFC South and made the playoffs with an 8-9 record this season. The offense gained 386 total yards in the team's 31-14 Monday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys, with Brady completing 35 of 66 attempts for 351 yards.

Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.